Page 9 of The Naughty List
I take a drink of my salted caramel frappe. Coffee is a little bitter for me, and even in the winter, I prefer it blended with ice cream.
“I think that’s possible. This position is both his personal assistant and professional assistant. He seems more concerned I won’t be able to handle the personal part. But I’ve been taking care of Z and Ache for two years. I’ve been in his apartment to pick them up and drop them off. I’ve picked up his dry cleaning, bought his groceries, and even met some of his uh,companions, as he calls them.”
“There must be something else then,” she says, her brows dipping inward as she taps her chin with her index finger.
I nod, licking the whipped cream from my upper lip. “Uh, yeah. He mentioned some things Eli did that he doesn’t want me to do.”
Her bright blue eyes gleam with excitement under the exposed bulbs in the coffee shop. “Such as?”
I hesitate, because I know how she is. I know where this can lead. Addi with an idea is more tenacious than Achilles with his favorite chew toy.
She will literally never let it go.
“Um, buying sex toys and lingerie for his dates for starters.”
Her eyes go round. “Wow, okay. What else?”
“That’s all he mentioned specifically.” I relay the details of our conversation, admitting that he’s right and I haven’t actually been in an adult toy store. I bought my vibrator online after carefully reading dozens of reviews. “I think it’s just the general idea. He had him do his dirty work and he thinks I’m too sweet and innocent to handle it. It’s like he’s afraid of corrupting me or something.”
She pulls her thick mass of blond curls to one side and pauses thoughtfully. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
She leans forward, lowering her voice a bit. “Are you sure you want this, like one hundred percent positive this is the job you want?”
I nod. “I know I can do this, Addi. Being his assistant is a career. Being his dog walker feels like a joke.”
She regards me warily. “Look, it wouldn’t be the craziest thing if you had a little crush on this guy. You’re both young, attractive, single adults. Mikey tries to ignore the fact that you’re a grown woman and all, but the rest of us are fully aware. Even Tony. They both see the way guys watch you at the bar. That’s why they moved you behind it instead of having you continue to wait tables.”
“I don’t have a crush on anyone. But yes, I’m all grown up now. Thanks for noticing. Your point?”
“I’m just saying, if you want this job, like really want it, I can help you. But if this is just a way to get closer to a man who will eventually shatter your sweet little heart and soul, I think you should stick to dog walking and keep your distance.”
I turn my cup around and around in my hands then stir it with my straw. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find him attractive. I do have eyes you know. But it’s not about that. It’s about being taken seriously, about having my own career, one where I don’t have to scoop dog poop in front of everyone at the park, and one where I will actually be a part of the Wildlife Defense Alliance. I’d get benefits, insurance, paid time off, and everything.”
Her expression warms and her eyes soften. “I understand, Hollis. For the record, I think you deserve whatever makes you happy. And I don’t know your boss, other than seeing him fight years ago on television, but if you did want something more with him, he’d be a damn fool to turn you down.”
I shake my head. “I could never…I’m not…” The thought of me and Jonah, in that way, has me tongue-tied. “I’m not his type, Addi. He doesn’t see me that way. Trust me.”
She smiles but there’s something patronizing about it. “He has eyes, you know. And he’s a man. I’d bet my Louis Vuitton bag he’s imagined the two of you together in many ways.”
She’s wrong. I tried once.
One very humiliating attempt a year ago, after I brought Zeus back from the vet, Jonah and I played a racing game on his fancy game console while he waited for his date to arrive. We were having so much fun—throwing popcorn at the screen, laughing at his temper tantrum when I beat him (perk of having two older brothers), talking about the dogs—I got caught up and lost my head. I leaned against him, and when the laughter subsided, our eyes met and I thought it was A Moment.
It wasn’t.
I leaned in to kiss him or to let him kiss me and he moved, standing abruptly when the doorbell rang. I nearly fell off the couch and he left with his date as if he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.
He called out “don’t forget to lock up when you leave,” and the words stabbed a soft spot I didn’t know I’d had.
After that night, a gallon of caramel cheesecake swirl ice cream and half a pint of Jack Daniels, I closed myself off to ever thinking of him in that way.
Yeah, he’s sexy, successful, and slightly dangerous. But he’s also guarded, complicated, and I’m certain his sexual appetite far surpasses the abilities of a virgin who still lives with her parents.
It was probably for the best that nothing had happened.
“Give me a piece of paper,” Addi demands, yanking me out of my memory. “And a pen.”
